Inside the New York Yankees clubhouse with MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch.

A similar refrain from Johnny Damon

Last season at this point, it was fair to wonder what Johnny Damon’s future held. This was the month that the Yankees decided to bump Damon out of center field in favor of Melky Cabrera, who was clearly outplaying Damon in every facet of the game and made an immediate impact, especially on defense. (Remember the chants of “Energy! Energy!” after the Wild Card clinching in St. Petersburg? That was all about Melky.)

Not too many people talked about it, but privately Damon wondered if there was even any future for him in New York. He wasn’t even at the halfway point of a four-year contract he’d signed to play center field for the Yankees, and already he’d been pushed aside like a spare part. Damon was assured by the front office that they indeed did want him as a Yankee, and that seemed to satisfy his concerns. He had a pretty good season by the end of it.

Why bring this all up? What it gives you is a fairly accurate glimpse into how proud a player Damon is. He knows that the Yankees probably aren’t the last team he’ll play for in his big league career, and that’s fine — from Kansas City to Oakland to Boston to New York, there’s been change.

But Damon still hopes people look to him as the sparkplug that makes the Yankees go.

Hey, and if you have 30 minutes to kill, check out Yankees On Deck in a repeat airing Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on YES. I’ll be checking in helping show a young cub reporter what it’s like to cover the Yankees.

132 Comments

I don’t buy your argument at all about Kennedy getting hit hard. He’s a fly ball pitcher, period. He’s going to have a lot of fly balls hit against him. I don’t really care how hard the balls are hit against Kennedy as long as they stay in the park and are caught for outs. what do you want bpark, for every hitter to hit pop ups? IF that’s how you judge pitchers then maybe I should judge Mussina, Pettitte or any starter in the majors by how far hitters hit fly balls against them.

its nice to have hitters sdriving in 1000 runs over the season.. but in the playoffs pitching is wut it counts. I still expect our top 3 starters to be able to pitch above average with respectable 3+ ERA in order for us to be able to compete in a postseason series. Do we need lights out performance? no, but we need starters who can keep us very much in any ballgame.

Every pitcher relies on his defense. It doesn’t matter if you’re overpowering and get a lot of fly-balls/Ks or if you’re a crafty magician, you rely on your d behind you; that’s why you have defensive alignments and such based on the trends and charts of where hitters are hitting balls. I don’t buy the argument that the Outfield ‘saved’ Kennedy. If that’s true then the same OF saved Wang a few times too. I guess in a way you’d say, the defense did their job well and luckily balls weren’t hit in the gaps (where the d ain’t!).

Now if you’re saying you’d prefer a power pitcher over Kennedy, well that’s cool… I personally just think he’s spotting fairly well on the corners but doesn’t get the call as often as he’s hoping. He needs to be more aggresive on strike one or the first pitch rather, but after that, then he can hopefully expand his zone ala Moose. He can do fine, but I think he’s trying to be too fine sometimes… but every pitcher misses a spot and leaves some over the middle.

We are going to be fine. The only thing that concerns me is our hitting in colder weather. We start and end the season in cool/cold weather… that has to change at some point.

Hopefully we start getting on a bit of a roll… while the two Seattle starters aren’t the best of the best, they are near the top of the class in the AL and we got to each very well. We just need to keep that up.

Just FYI, Wang is 6-0. The only Yankees win in last season’s post season was the one where Hughes outpitched Clemens in relief. I believe Mussina made one appearance, and that was the shaky relief appearance in the next game when Wang imploded.

Lost in all this is Wang 5 and 0, all 6 starts have produced wins. He was rejected a long term deal even with 38 wins over 2. Possibly because of second half and playoff struggles in that 2 years. If Wang continues this, CC’s money could go to Wang and we may price ourself into a lesser start on the free agent market next year. In 09, Pettitte, Mussina, Gertrude Pavano will not be on the payroll, Kennadia hopefully will be living in triple A. Wang, Hughes and 3 unknowns.

Pettitte will clearly have the 2nd most wins and first if Wang for whatever reason doesn’t. I am hoping Mussina has turned a corner and will pitch like he did before the hiccups that cost him his job last year.

Actually Pettitte has gone 6 or more innings 4 times, 2 of them for 7 innings, and he is more likely to add to that since he is younger and stronger. He is also the stopper on this team going to last season.

Technically a quality outing is if the pitcher goes 6+ innings and gives up 3 runs or less. My concern is when the season gets longer and longer and he starts facing the same teams for a second or third time.

The outfield saved Kennadia on hard hit balls the last 2 games. I am not waiting on Brian Bruney to come back. Rasner could end up in the pen if we find another start or 2 before Hughes comes back. Matt, Mussina has been better but seems to get tired, is that pitch count?

I will have to disagree with you about that a little chaz. This pen is already being overworked because only 40 % of the staff can go deep into games, the pen is still in the top 2 or 3 (last time I looked) pens in terms if IP so far. IF Mussina can’t go longer and if this team can’t find a solid #4 or #5 starter fairly soon the pen will burn itself out sometime early in the second half of the season. The pen is shaky as the Yanks have already sent down Traber, Ohlendorf is up-and-down, Hawkins is a disaster, Bruney is on the DL and the pen is still lacking a long man. With that being said, I think it’s a little questionable where we will be.

I think we will suffer more hitting slumps, hoefully I am wrong. Pettitte was a distraction in spring already. Clemens is our best non trade option this is clear. The other question is whether is strong personality would allow him to play for his catcher?

Is Kennadia taking the approach that he is not willing to learn and should not have been demoted? He certainly has some attitude.

We have at least 6 guys competing for 2 spots in the rotation (the way I see it). That means we can TAKE ADVANTAGE of these injuries to get a real assessment of who is who over the next 60 days. If we want an omelette, we have to break a couple eggs. Frankly, with 3 solid starters out of 5, a bullpen that is getting the job done, and a clicking offense we should be well above .500 by the time Hughes comes back. That gives us a chance to have 5 spots in the rotation lined-up in time for a stretch run. We are not in a bad position here.

Kennedy is ready for the majors, he showed it late last season when Mussina crashed and burned and Kennedy had to come in and pick up the slack under difficult circumstances. He has hit a mental block, sending him back down to the minors to pitch against prospects who are still developing may not help. Like Wholohan said he needs to learn to pitch at this level, he has already shown he can pitch against minor leaguers. Sending him back so quickly rather than keeping him up here might make things worse for him not better. I would have rather seen the Yanks take some time and work with him on the sidelines maybeput him in the pen in limited situations rather than sending him down. After all, a young pitcher’s psyche is very fragile.

Atleast we acknoledge that one good start with Rasner is not a bullprint. Igawa I think is better suited in the pen as a long reliever or lefty specialist with a pay cut. Kennadia might not be ready until 2nd half 09.

Noone has even mentioned the utter distraction Clemens would be if he were allowed back in pinstripes. The only way we could create a more poisonous atmosphere is bringing in Bonds. Of course, team chemistry and honor don’t matter. Bring on the roid heads. I’ll administer the B12 and lidocaine injections myself!

Correct Chaz. Of those guys, 2 are our best hitters (not including Cano).

I am not sure if Clemens is injury prone. I think that had more to do with his conditioning. We asked him to come back a month before he planned on it, then we rushed him up. I don’t think he will be a difference maker either but he will be a big game pitcher and he is better than all other non trade options.

Performance based to earn the 5 spot. We will have the 4 and 5 spots in the rotation for the next 60 days to evaluate who is “big league ready”. IPK gets a break, Igawa and Rasner get a shot. If they pitch well, they stay, If they don’t, then IPK and whoever is next in line gets called up. We only need 1 of the 4 to get the job done, fellas. Let’s give them all a chance.

Other than the game in Anaheim last year in front of Hughes’s family, he pitched very well. Kennadia would not have been on the playoff roster even if he was 100% healthy and wasn’t getting married. Torre trusted Villone way more than Kennadia and Villone wasn’t initial on the playoff roster either.

Matt, Hughes will be in the rotation again this year, maybe after a couple of warm starts or simuted action. He could come right back depending on what happens between now and then. Kennadia simply came up last year because of the injury to Clemens. He was not ready and he is not ready now.

We really are freaking out more than we need to about the starting rotation. Fellas, look at what we have:
Wang – 6-0, freaking lights out!
Andy – Pitching respectably
Moose – (knock on wood) he’s mixing pitches very well, looks like he’s figuring out life without the heater
Granted things get a touch harder at 4 and 5, but I think we are more or less OK.

Rasner (for now) Why slam the kid for bad performances that have yet to pass? I say 1 start at a time. So far, 1 start, 1 win.
Kei Igawa/Any other AAA starter until Hughes comes back. – Methinks Hughes was rocky because he was hiding injury. How the hell did that rib break? 10 to 1 says he hurt it off the field, and hid it from Joe G.
Once we get Hughes back, I think if we put him at #4, then use whichever starter (Rasner, Igawa, IPK) is doing the best job at #5, we should be fine. The bullpen looks good, and the offense will score runs.
Of course, once we get close to the deadline, we have the option of either trading for a good setup guy and moving Joba to the rotation, or trading some prospects for a really sharp veteran starting pitcher. Either way, we get even stronger. Sacrificing potential dynasties for 1 season should not be an option. Patience (remind me I said this, LOL).

The last thing this team needs to be doing is going back to the old ways of trading older, more established prospects. We’ve seen what a failure that policy has been in the past. This team didn’t have much in the way of options in terms of the FA market or the minors when it came to starters, at least none were good enough to be a # 3 starter. I wouldn’t make a blanket statement about rookies in the same rotation. There are rookies who can handle the stress, and pressure of being in the majors, and there are those who can’t. You could say the same about FA agent pitchers as well, especially those who come to New York just ask the likes of Kenny Rogers, Javier Vazquez, or Randy Johnson. Hughes has the personality and demeanor to pitch at this level this season, he has shown it in the past so it was worth the risk of having both up at the same time. Also, both have shown that they can pitch at this level in terms of talent and ability, they have nothing left to prove in the minors. The problem isn’t that they don’t have that, it’s more mental for them than anything else. Sending them back down may not help them, it may hurt them more, no telling. Holding a rookie player back can be just as detrimental as is rushing a player before he is ready.

I support both Pettitte and Clemens, they are both hall of fame Yankees. The evidence against Clemens is marginal, arguable at best, it is far from conclusive. The perjury stuff has more legs with regards to the Nanny vs. Canseco.

Pettitte also pitched 2 more months than Clemens last year and had spring training to prepare.

Pettitte had a lack of run support and a bullpen that prevented him from winning close to 20 games, but he still won 15. Clemens was a savior that failed at saving anything. Winning the division was what we were supposed to do and he was supposed to get us over the hump, he didn’t so now we need to move on c’mon honestly.

Bpark, When have I (since the scandal) backed Pettite? Do you not remember my Adroid PEDitte posts? I just don’t ride him as hard because he at least “sort of” owned it. I mean, he certainly didn’t come out and say “I used HGH, I lied to you (the fans) about it, I tried to hide my use of it, I was looking for an edge, It was stupid, It will never happen again.” Andy was sorry for GETTING CAUGHT, then turned around months later and bashed the media for “blowing it out of proportion”. Not exactly the stand-up guy I have idolized since I was a kid, but he at least didn’t deny it once he got busted. All that said, Andy gets support from me (I guess) while on the field. Otherwise, he can take a leap off a bridge for all I care. Like Clemens is your guy, Pettite WAS mine, and he did not earn my forgiveness. The rest of the fanbase and the media wants to hold him on a pedestal for the way he handled the situation, fine.

I hope we don’t get that desperate to need any of those three, the rotation is weak now, but like I said I think Rasner can get the job done as proved by his solid control. I don’t see how you can write off Kennedy and not Hughes they both sucked so far but have good stuff, they’re different styles of pitchers so if you don’t like Kennedy I guess it’s because he doesn’t throw the sexy mid-90’s fastball. If the bullpen can keep pitching well maybe we’ll see Joba starting this year. We could even call up Kennedy and have him come in from the pen and work on his stuff in mop-up situations and whatnot. He needs to see better hitting, he proved himself in the minors. He needs to mature mentally and change his approach to better hitters.

Take Kennedy out the rotation because he’s gone. Your concerns are limited to Hughes and Mussina. Lets see how Mussina goes for the rest of the year before we jump on him. Hughes is out till July but I have a feeling he will come back strong.

As far as I’m concerned “The Savior” didn’t prove himself at all last season. He was only 6-6 with a 4+ ERA. How is he proving himself with those numbers? He wasn’t even close to what he was worth with those type of numbers, I wouldn’t pay half a million for him. The Yanks didn’t get him just to pitch in the big games. When they got him the team was struggling, they expected him to help them more than what he did, at least more than just those 2 games against the Suks you keep mentioning. Where was he in his biggest start of the season, which was the post season game against the Indians where he was just too much of a wreck to start in the first place, and Hughes outpitched him. Again, I have to wonder how different things would have been if Clemens were actually healthy, and Hughes would have been available to come in in relief of Wang.
In case you’re thinking about asking me, I don’t want Karstens, IGawa, or Clemens pitching for this team, period.

Again to emphasize MY POINT being: yankees should only put ONE ROOKIE in the rotation. Rookies are meant to be no 5 starter regardless of how high their prospect level is. Thats how u START a major league career. Anything above that is u putting too much pressure on the poor kid.

But those three are on our payroll we have to get away form throwing money at losers like Clemens just to have it hurt us in the long run. Clemens is a bigger joke than Karstens and I’d rather see Igawa toe the rubber than Clemens we pay Igawa how much? Too much to go out and pay another guy who couldn’t get the job done.

Pettitte is extremely reliable, he stepped up and said in an apology, he used HGH once, later he said twice, who knows the truth.

We agree on one thing Clemens is not gonna get a pro-rated deal, if we re-sign him its in the 2-5M range. Clemens did proof in his final 2 games against Boston in August and September that he still has it for the big games. I say if he wants to go out on top we give 2M with a personal service contract and he can rewrite his wrongs. Karstens, Igawa and Britton are complete jokes.

Oh, I just googled where people were in our minors system, bad info but my stance doesn’t change. We have in house options lets use them first. If they all fail then maybe then you look to outside options, but I think a trade has to be exercised before we go to a depleted free agent market.

the yanks could play with wut we have for now and buy time before we jump to any clemens decision. We may be able to stay afloat and keep close to the sox and other division leaders by the trade dateline and opt to go for a solid no 2 or no 3 starter. Moose is a no 4 starter at best. meanwhile rasner or hughes or kennedy could remain as the no 5. we’ve seen how trying to develop and win at the same time could be costly, i say we put the best rookie in the no 5 spot. i seriously think we needa stop rushing all these kids, they should go thru the farm system the way they normally would have.

Just to let you know Horne has been out for a while with a bad biceps, and Marquez has struggled somewhat, and McCutcheon has been at AA, but should be moved to AAA and Betances should move up to AA, otherwise you’re on target about everything else.
We already have three three pitchers who can go 6 innings ( Mussina, Hughes, and Kennedy) this team doesn’t need another. Give the pen a break!!

I don’t like Clemens because we’re going to have to give him a contract when we have people already on our payroll that can suck just as much and probably do better because they’re younger. As I said He averaged UNDER 6 IP last year, had OVER a 4 ERA. I’d rather see White, Igawa, or Karstens pitch before we even consider giving the Rocket another $30 mil pro rated. We have plenty of in house options before we can be desperate. Behind those three we have Horne (probably not ready yet but could come up in a pinch), Marquez, and McCutchen in AAA and Betances in AA that all could make a spot start. The difference between Pettitte and Clemens is Pettitte stepped up and was a man, said he did something wrong, Clemens is guilty, there’s evidence, testimony from Pettitte who has proven to be reliable, and he still denies everything. Roger Clemens is a grade A scumbag and he has no place on these Yankees. Why spend the money to bring in a looser like that when we could get just as much or more from their minor leaguers. If they all go down as useless and injured then MAYBE you consider desperate actions, but not now, we’re what 30ish games into the season don’t be foolish, Roger Clemens will give us under 7 wins, over a 4.5 ERA probably over 5 and average under 6 IP thus our BP is not saved with or without him. NO ROGER CLEMENS ON THIS YANKEES TEAM!

Rasner looked very strong walking nobody and picking up four strikeouts, and we could keep a rotation of Wang, Rasner, Pettitte, Musina, Kennedy until Hughes comes off the DL, to me that’s much more attractive than any rotation that involves one of the fat washed up has-beens Clemens or Wells.

Yeah, I’m not saying Rasner won’t be good, but I would like to see other prospects get the chance to pitch who have actually earned it through performance rather than the same old options we know will be awful like Igawa who are only getting chance after chance because of the size of their contracts, and not talent.

Matt I can’t agree with you more about Kennedy, he was good in the minors and had one or two good starts last season against MLB hitters, he can do it it’s all about confidence. I see a lot of immaturity in him, he’s young but the best place to mature is on the big club, we can skip over him a start or two throw four starters and have our pitching coaches work with him. He want to pitch like Moose its obvious, let them work together and get things going in the right direction, especially because whatever Moose is doing right now is more than I expected and pretty darn good. I agree we cant be all over Rasner’s good start but I think he can be a solid starter, and I keep forgetting about White. Raz might just be the anchor to the rotation to complement Wang (Ace) and Pettitte who will be very solid this year IMO. I still don’t trust Moose but he’s definitely earning it, and I’m still excited to see Hughes come back in June, I think he’ll do a little better especially with a couple of minors rehab starts. I hope Kennedy will be back I liked his stuff he just nibbled and then got ballsy and tried to attack the strike zone and centered up a pitch that got smashed. He wasn’t far off so I hope he can come back soon.

Yup, I would have to agree with that Chaz. We all love the “canned” answers, and when someone goes away from that we go “what the?! You can’t say that!” Heh, that’s also why I think Moose is my favorite interview of all time. He NEVER has canned answers, but generally has smart answers.

The Yanks had a chance to deal Matsui in the offseason to the Giants for pitcher like Johnathan Sanchez, and Sean hennessey, but didn’t. I feel that was a big mistake. Sure, losing Matsui would have put a big hole in the lineup, but at least the pitching would be in better shape. No chance of getting Matt Cain, the Giants realize he is going to be one of their cornerstones in their rebuilding process. Guys like Scherzer, Burnett, Morrow, and Sanchez are pretty much untouchable right now.

I wouldn’t get too excited about Rasner yet. I was good that he got started against a weak team that is slumping right now to get him going, but there’s no reason to think he will stay at this level based on one start, especially since he has done anything in his career to think that. For all we know he could get blasted from here on out. I still think Steve White would be a better option than Rasner or Igawa, this team has to start looking at fresh approaches, and different options rather than the same failed ones it keeps going with time, and time again.

I don’t mind telling you, I was never more embarrassed as a Yankee fan was when Clemens announced to thousands of Yankee fans at the game against Seattle that he was coming back over the PA system as if he were some savior coming out of the heavens to save this team. At that moment I said big freakin’ deal!!! Clemens didn’t do much to help this team to close that 15 1/2 game gap between the Yanks and Suks last season like you assert. There were many reasons for that, mostly because the offense came alive not because of Clemens. In fact Clemens came close to being the reason why this team collapsed in the post season, only it was Hughes who came in and bailed his sorry butt out of trouble by out pitching him and saving the team for one more game. This rotation is a wreck right now, the Yanks aren’t going to make it worse by adding another one to the rotation by adding “The Savior” or even “The Beer Guzzler” who only gets exercise when he lifts a canof Coors to his mouth. This team needs to concentrate on geting younger, not older.

Another thing, there’s no guarantee that Kennedy won’t be back sometime this season along with Hughes. IF Kennedy does well in the minors he could be called up again. His problems are mental not with his mechanics. Even though I don’t oppose him being sent down there’s no guarantee that he won’t be over his mental problems by the time he is recalled. That’s why I’m not sure sending back down and keeping him there will do much for him. That’s the problem with these type of situations, it’s difficult to measure the progress or lack of progress he makes in the minors. Personally, I would have kept him in the majors, and have him work on the sidelines with him for a while since this is a period of the season where the Yanks don’t need 5 starters, especially since his problems are rooted in his inability to pitch at the pro level not at the minor league level. So he could still have the same problems when the Yanks recall him, demoting him may do nothing for him, it could make things worse.

I don’t mind telling you, I was never more embarrassed as a Yankee fan was when Clemens announced to thousands of Yankee fans at the game against Seattle that he was coming back over the PA system as if he were some savior coming out of the heavens to save this team. At that moment I said big freakin’ deal!!! Clemens didn’t do much to help this team to close that 15 1/2 game gap between the Yanks and Suks last season like you assert. There were many reasons for that, mostly because the offense came alive not because of Clemens. In fact Clemens came close to being the reason why this team collapsed in the post season, only it was Hughes who came in and bailed his sorry butt out of trouble by out pitching him and saving the team for one more game. This rotation is a wreck right now, the Yanks aren’t going to make it worse by adding another one to the rotation by adding “The Savior” or even “The Beer Guzzler” who only gets exercise when he lifts a canof Coors to his mouth. This team needs to concentrate on geting younger, not older.

Another thing, there’s no guarantee that Kennedy won’t be back sometime this season along with Hughes. IF Kennedy does well in the minors he could be called up again. His problems are mental not with his mechanics. Even though I don’t oppose him being sent down there’s no guarantee that he won’t be over his mental problems by the time he is recalled. That’s why I’m not sure sending back down and keeping him there will do much for him. That’s the problem with these type of situations, it’s difficult to measure the progress or lack of progress he makes in the minors. Personally, I would have kept him in the majors, and have him work on the sidelines with him for a while since this is a period of the season where the Yanks don’t need 5 starters, especially since his problems are rooted in his inability to pitch at the pro level not at the minor league level. So he could still have the same problems when the Yanks recall him, demoting him may do nothing for him, it could make things worse.

Clemens really is a beauty. He’s now apologizing for “mistakes” he made in his personal life, but refuses to specify what he’s apologizing for. What a world-class loser. He’s a one man circus complete with clowns, a trapeze artist, the bearded lady, and those bears that ride bicycles. LMFAO.

The reason I put the rotation Wang, Rasner, Pettitte, Mussina, Kennedy is so we don’t pitch our weakest pitchers 3 in a row, its what we were doing when we had Hughes and Kennedy in the rotation. Do you think Hughes was our number 2 pitcher so far this year. Have you been paying attention to the season thus far. Before the demotion and DL stint our rotation was Wang, Hughes, Pettitte, Mussina, Kennedy, all I did was replace Hughes with Rasner because he’s on the DL. This is something called strategy so we try and not drop 3-4 games in a row after Wang. Pettitte hasn’t pitched lights out in his last two outings and thats going to happen from time to time, he’s still our number two but has to pitch behind one of the youngsters because of his reputation for pitching well after a team loss. I’m more disappointed than shocked in Kennedy’s response, I’m sure many people feel that way when they’re demoted to the minors but the majority have the maturity to keep their mouth shut and just play baseball. The Yankees are paying him a good deal of money he needs to realize that even if he doesn’t make it back this year he will be back and just work on what the Yankees tell him to work on. And the last thing on Rasner, he has not had a bad outing this year in the majors or in the minors, I had confidence in him to the tune of 6 IP 3-4 ER, 4-5K, 3-4BB and he was in the ballpark for my expectations. With this offense over a complete season and this bullpen continuing to pitch well for the most part if you have an ERA of 4 pitch 6 innings per start, you’ll have a very good record. This team was dormant for a while, but April is hasn’t been their month in a couple of years, but they’re only 3 games back from Boston. We made up 15 last year we can make up the 3 in no time, we just need to keep playing good baseball, play smart, and keep Clemens outside of the Bronx in general let alone in Yankee Stadium.

Yo Chaz, can you specify which comment was the one that Kennedy shouldn’t have made?

“I guess if I can pitch under a smaller microscope down there, I guess it might put a little less pressure on me,” Kennedy acknowledged. “You are on a bigger scale here. In Scranton, I’m struggling, but here, the world is going to end.”

Sounds like he’s not sold that going down is going to fix his ‘problem’…

“I was kind of surprised, because I feel like I’ve been throwing well,” Kennedy said, “but if you don’t do well and get drastic changes and drastic improvements, this is what happens.

I have to agree with his confusion, looked like he was ok from the Brass, then poof, nope, sorry, actually yes, pack your bags…

“They made it sound like they wanted me here, but they’d rather have me improve in Scranton and get my confidence back up. I feel like the last two times, I’ve been doing better. It’s not going to be easier because it’s in Scranton. It’s still baseball, it’s still a game.”

I agree with him here too, it sounds like he thinks whatever is wrong that going down isn’t going to fix or change that, but I don’t know exactly what they’re saying “is” wrong. :P

Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history. Does that make him a HOF pitcher and the greatest of all time? No. One game is just that, one game, however great it may be. The Boston game is not an argument for bringing Clemens back.

Bpark, now you’re just reaching. Noone said put Rasner in the 2 hole, but, I would take Pavano over Clemens. Chase Wright is better than Clemens, but not Pettite. We can blame Clemens for Hughes’ pitching this year? What the hell does that even mean? BFD that Clemens showed up for games vs. Boston, the sun will even shine on a dog’s butt every so often. Are you high? Is the room spinning? Step away from the keyboard before you hurt yourself.

It’s not that he’s so much better, it’s that Roger is not a good option for us; the money, the stamina, his image, his mindset right now are all questionable. Roger last year barely went past 6 innings in any game. He did not have the upper-hand with hitters, he was hittable.

Aside from Roger’s veteran status and all his previous achievements, he functionally offers no more than the two kids we’re having trouble with. He may go 4-6, but what you’re going to get is just as iffy as having Hughes, Kennedy or Rasner in there. Why bring on that if you don’t have to is all people are saying.

Hughes isn’t exactly needing mentoring right now, I’d venture a guess that his rib was more to do with his ineffetiveness than him needing Roger to help coach him on how to throw a fastball, etc.

So, I see no upside to Roger.

If the argument is SP, we can find just as good or better than Clemens… better than Wells easily.

Rasner deserves his shot right now… but I see no reason why we try to bring on Clemens, AGAIN. I’m sorry I just don’t. I’d rather see this as a rebuilding year than to start trying to salvage the season for the season’s sake. What’s more is it doesn’t need ‘salvaging’ yet even. We need consistency in hitting and pitching, when we get them, we’re usually on the better end of it.

Another phantom second posting… hahahah, roger-that Chaz, going to read it now. Maybe I did read that. I didn’t think much what I read yesterday but he’s a youngin… and take it from me, I get passionate at times, sometimes I say things that I shouldn’t! No one’s perfect is all… :)

I’m curious what Kennedy said? I didn’t see it anywhere. Was it frustration? I’d have been a little ticked too after seeing a story saying “Yankees in no hurry to demote Kennedy” then doing it two days later… I mean yes this is the Bigs and if that’s what they want, well that sucks but oh well… ya can’t blame the kid for being upset with the whole thing… but he’ll be fine. I think he was doing ok, not good but not horrible like Igawa did last year. He was not getting a lot of run support but who has been lately?

Rasner did well, so proud of him. They tried and got him early but he showed poise and ‘settled down’ as they like to say so much… He can really do no worse than Huhges or Kennedy have been doing so far, so until he gets lit up, he’s just as good at #5.

No way do we need Clemens or Wells or any other iffy pitcher. I’d rather have Brad Penny than either of those old fellas. Their better days are far behind them. Clemens could give us what, maybe 5? The only reason you even entertain him is because of his grit, but even grit doesn’t take you far if your mechanics are bad/going.

Jeremy, check out the last article on IPK on the Yanks’ site. Pretty ignorant of him to voice his opinions about being sent down like that in a public forum. He sounds like a toddler that didn’t get the candybar he wanted. He’s probably right in saying what he said, but making those comments to a reporter is a great way to Ryan Lief himself. SSHHHH, IPK.

Golf, in bpark’s eyes he DID. Never mind the constant hamstring, blister, knee, and softicity of the wang problems he had right when we needed him most. Q: What happens when someone stops using roids? A: Their body falls apart.

I’m curious what Kennedy said? I didn’t see it anywhere. Was it frustration? I’d have been a little ticked too after seeing a story saying “Yankees in no hurry to demote Kennedy” then doing it two days later… I mean yes this is the Bigs and if that’s what they want, well that sucks but oh well… ya can’t blame the kid for being upset with the whole thing… but he’ll be fine. I think he was doing ok, not good but not horrible like Igawa did last year. He was not getting a lot of run support but who has been lately?

Rasner did well, so proud of him. They tried and got him early but he showed poise and ‘settled down’ as they like to say so much… He can really do no worse than Huhges or Kennedy have been doing so far, so until he gets lit up, he’s just as good at #5.

No way do we need Clemens or Wells or any other iffy pitcher. I’d rather have Brad Penny than either of those old fellas. Their better days are far behind them. Clemens could give us what, maybe 5? The only reason you even entertain him is because of his grit, but even grit doesn’t take you far if your mechanics are bad/going.

How about a 6-6 record, a 4.18 era, a 4.47 era vs. American League opposition; and a 2.1 innings pitched, 11.57 era, no decision in the ALDS? All of this for the bargain basement price of 30 million dollars (pro-rated of course).

bpark, by throwing .500 ball? He went 6-6 in 17 starts. That means that he got 5 ND’s. Blame those on whomever you want but we were playing lights out ball. If he was so valuable to us and we were playing that good a game, why wasn’t he 10-2?

Oh, and I did some back checking on the blog, Bpark. You, Sir, can kiss my hairy butt. Frankly, I don’t have to be a fan of ANY single player to be a fan of this team. I can’t stand Barak Hussein or Hitler-y Clinton, but I still LOVE my country. I don’t have much use for my drunk Uncle Tony, but I still love my family. If my ability to love this team was governed by liking each individual player, I would have moved on 20 years ago. I question YOUR loyalty to the team, jackass. Do you have even a f-ing clue as to what Clemens has done to damage the Yankees’ legacy? Or does your man-crush on his fatass prevent you from seeing past year 2000? Just quit while you are behind, bpark. Stop proposing pitching rotations comprised of 50 year old hacks with NOTHING left in the tank. Noone wants to see your rotation of Roidger Clemens, Randy Johnson, David Wells, Jimmy Key, and Billy Crystal. It’s not amusing anymore. In fact, it’s sad. You are losing credibility by the post. Your posts are so counter-productive that I can’t seem to get off of them. You do know that we just swept the Mariners right? We just punked their 3 best pitchers, 2 of which would be staff ACES on nearly any team. You did see Rasner come in and do pretty damned good? You did see us score runs like gangbusters SANS our 2 most prolific hitters? No, you probably didn’t, because you would have to come off of Clemens’ zipper long enough to look around. It’s 2008, bpark, not 1998. All these old tubbies you are pimping are DONE. Maybe you are OK with Clemens’ infamy being associated with this team, but I am not. Frankly, any a-hole willing to look the other way just because Clemens was wearing pinstripes while he CHEATED the game is a DISGRACEFUL fan of baseball, and should be ashamed of themselves. Let me bottom line this for you. No one is comfortable admitting that the best hitter of all time, and (argueably) the best righty of all time tried to stop the hands of time by using PEDs. It sucks. BUT, the faster we can collectively swallow the bitter pill, and MOVE ON, the better off we will be. This means you, bpark. Do everyone a favor: stop posting your Clemens nonsense.

I would be surprise to see Kennedy back by March 10th if at all this year. I am waiting to hear how Clemens didn’t help us come back from 15 and 1/2 back to our final record. To say Igawa is a better mentor to Hughes is plain ridiculous.

I think bpark throws around the name “Clemens” just to tick people off. The Yankees would be STUPID to waste money on Roidger (maybe they could pay him with other people’s ex-wives and 15 year old girls?). Not only would he NOT even match the abysmal effort he put forth last season, but his signing would be PR suicide. Our reputation and legacy have already been tarnished quite enough over the last several years recycling a looooooong list of drug abusers, drunks, and CHEATS. Why would we want to endure so much scrutiny for a guy that can’t hope to get it done anymore? While I used to value his opinion, I am starting to think that bpark is FULL OF CRAP. The constant barrage of transactions, trades, and signings that he speculates about (none of which EVER come to fruition) are TIRED. The Yankees need to separate themselves from Roidger Clemens’ 5 TENT CIRCUS as much as humanly possible. Check it out, Roidger Clemens will never pitch for us, or anyone else for that matter, ever again. HE’S FINISHED.

Looking more like Thurday’s starter is going to be Moose. I’m fine with that. He’s pitched well of late and seems to have found a good combination of pitches. However, Joe DID say that they might give him extra rest too…..

I’m hoping that some of you here (obsportsgirl for instance!) can give me some advice. We’re driving down to New Rochelle Wednesday afternoon for the night. We’ll likely take the train to the stadium rather than drive. What time will the park open? Can we get there early for BP? Are there good places to go for autographs (with ARod out, he’ll have plenty of time to sign my son’s ball!) This is my first ever trip to the mecca and my dad’s first in well over 50 years. Any help or assistance would be great! Feel free to email me or reply here. Thanks!!

I think that Kennedy is further away than most of you. He is mentally shot. He is the reason that sports psychologists earn big bucks. His confidence is gone, completely. To have him say in public what he did, even Michael Kay and Bobby Murcer couldn’t believe it. You just don’t do that.
He’ll need to rattle off some seriously strong outings at SWB to even begin to think about pitching up on the big club again. If he comes back and throws another couple of stinkers in the Bronx, he’ll be lost for the season if not longer. And I don’t think you can blame this one on anyone but IPK, not Joe, no Cashman, not Hank. They all thought what we did. IPK was goign to be a valuable part of our rotation in 2008. Go maybe 20-25 starts (or 25-30 with limited innings) and give us some .500 ball, maybe a tick above. That isn’t happening this year. If he’s not treated right, he may never pitch again in the bigs. Someone whose confidence is shaken that badly is a ticking time bomb.

BPark,
Really you need to stop. Perhaps you missed the part where I said that Wells hasn’t thrown a ML pitch this season? He was fat and old back when he was fat and old. Now, with all that inactivity? Maybe we should talk to Gooden too? Can he play with a tracking bracelet around his ankle? Clemens isn’t going to give us any more than Igawa or Rasner or White or anyone. He didn’t last year. He’s 45 years old. How long do you think he would actually be effective? Maybe we can pick up El Duque too? He hasn’t pitched all year either.
Rasner has earned his next start. He gave us everything we could have wanted. In case no one noticed, after the first inning he was next to stellar, even getting himself out of trouble in the 4th. Andy’s got his hands full tonight but he can do it. And I think as long as Damon stays healthy, he’ll stay on this team. Giambi is done with us after this year. Duncan will hopefully mature into our everyday 1b-man. Matsui and Damon can share LF/DH.

Maybe Kennedy gets a start in AAA then gets recalled to make his May 10th start? I’d rather see Kennedy get the ball then Kei Igawa.

As for White, which matt pointed out, well we have never really seen what he can do in the Majors. Maybe he can hold down the fort and be a no.5 starter. With the lack of alternatives the Yanks may give him a shot. Cashman will try to get Igawa going because of the money, but if Igawa gets crushed than we will need someone to step up.

Personally I prefer recalling IPK because he is part of the future. If we let him work through his problems he will be a horse in our rotation for many years to come.

Does anybody actually think Roger Clemens will be useful to this club? Sure he may win 5-6 games, but he’ll lose at least that many. He will be no more effective than Kennedy or Igawa can be. I’d rather see someone on our current payroll pitch and possibly earn their paycheck rather than throw more money at an old cheat who is washed up. We all knew this would be a season that prepared our youngsters for the future and when the hiccup they have to battle through it, sending Kennedy down only hurts. Big League hitters take the pitches just off the plate while AAA hitters may not, Kennedy will be the same pitcher when he comes back until he pitches more innings with the big club. By sending him down it seems like they’re giving up on him. Rasner looked very strong walking nobody and picking up four strikeouts, and we could keep a rotation of Wang, Rasner, Pettitte, Musina, Kennedy until Hughes comes off the DL, to me that’s much more attractive than any rotation that involves one of the fat washed up has-beens Clemens or Wells.

I am happy to see Rasner pitch well. I hope he can keep it up. On another subject I think it was a mistake to send Kennedy down. Ian needs experience at the big league level and sending him down may hurt his confidence and make him press more when he returns. They should have just let him pitch and let him mature at this level.

Bpark, who do you think the Yankees are going to bring in? I don’t think it’s Clemens or Wells, but rather by trade. If so, who the heck are we trading? Kennedy certainly has hurt his value, and we don’t have a starting pitcher tommorow! Isn’t Pettitte supposed to go out there in the four spot? These Yankees are truely mysterious at times.

We also beat two of the game’s premier pitchers in Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard. Carlos Silva is no slouch either, but the first two are certifiable team aces and we were able to survive against Bedad thanks to sucky fielding behind him and really get to Hernandez who is a strikeout machine and inning eater. This could be a turnaround series, bring on the Indians.

You I am not neccesarily advocating for Wells but I know how the Yankees think…short term, I would prefer Clemens, Clemens could be used in the pen when Joba comes back as a starter. Farnsworth is gonna be the setup guy, we’re remolding him.

I’m glad to see Rasner pitch well, I had a feeling he would and is the reason why we didn’t need to search the FA market. Who knows how long Phil has been hurting and hopefully it’s been a while so when he comes back he can just jump into the swing of things again and pitch like he did last year for us. BD those three players and add in Alby Gonzalez in there and our young guys have really stepped up for us when we need to stay afloat. Players like Cano will turn around and have a solid season, who knows about Giambi, but if Shelly Duncan can pick his play up a bit he could really help this club. When we get all our players back we should be firing on all cylinders and take the Red Sux down off their high perch. I’m not as worried as some because this is a better start than last year and nobody in the AL East is running away with it while we struggle.

Guys, Matsui is not going anywhere, and if he does go somewhere, it’s going to be to a team that can afford him AND has good pitching. — WOW — WHAT A CATCH BY DAMON! — Back to topic. Some teams we could hook up with are :

I do’t think we should deal away Matsui just yet. He has been one of the best bats on our lineup and has done well as DH. We don’t need to shop him around at the deadline. Teams are going to want him and will come at Cashman in July. Maybe we will deal him then, but we don’t need too and shouldn’t unless we get real value in return.

It’s from Wang’s home, Taiwan. I like to watch Damon in the games. He is a great player. We always see his smile during those games. Damon knows what he need to do in the team. We wish he could keep playing for Yankees.

Damon is without doubt a valuble component in our lineup. When he is hitting, stealing bases and giving the pitcher fits, it helps the entire offense. Especially now that we don’t have A Rod or Posada to drive the ball out of the park, we need small ball to score runs.

Back in time

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